CFA vs CA in India: Official Fees, Exam Stages and Coaching

We publish this page. It compares two qualifications, not coaching providers, and we are a directory rather than a provider.

The two fees cannot be added together as printed. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme bills in US dollars, per exam sitting. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which runs the Chartered Accountant (CA) course, bills in rupees, per stage, before you have sat a single paper.

Setting one "total cost" against another produces a gap that looks like a verdict but reflects what each number counts. Coaching fees then change the picture again, because the format you pick moves the price more than the qualification does. The sections below put coaching prices on one basis so the comparison holds.

This page takes the structure of each route first, then the fees paid to the exam body, a short view on who each route suits, what a coaching provider charges for each format, and a quote sheet for comparing any offer on equal terms. All figures are as of November 2026.

• CFA's charter needs work experience and CA's Final exam needs completed practical training, so time commitment matters alongside fees.
• Coaching price depends on format and on whether goods and services tax (GST) is included, so put every quote on one basis before comparing.
• Ask for a written quote that names the stage, the total with GST, the access end date and the refund terms before you pay.

CFA costs USD 3,520 to 4,570 in exam fees, needs 900 recommended study hours (3 × 300, our arithmetic) and 4,000 work hours for the charter; CA costs ₹49,000 in registration and two years of practical training. Both have three levels. The table uses only the two bodies' own pages.

The New Scheme launched on 1 July 2023. Guides that still describe older stages are out of date, so January and September are no longer Final months, as Careers360 News reported.

CFA Institute puts the exam fees for all three levels at USD 3,520 to 4,570. The lower figure is early registration and the higher is standard registration. A resit is another exam fee. The fees are charged in dollars. In rupees, our model is USD 3,520 to 4,570 multiplied by the rupee rate on the day you pay; each ₹1 of rate adds ₹3,520 to ₹4,570 to the total.

For CA, ICAI's registration fees on the Foundation route are:

• Foundation: ₹9,000
• Intermediate (both groups): ₹18,000
• Final (both groups): ₹22,000

That is 9,000 + 18,000 + 22,000 = ₹49,000. A graduate entering directly at Intermediate pays 18,000 + 22,000 = ₹40,000 in registration, plus a ₹200 prospectus fee for Direct Entry students. The figures come from ICAI's New Scheme FAQ and its course fee sheet.

CFA's USD range and ICAI's ₹49,000 count different things. CFA's is exam fees only. ICAI's is registration only, and it does not include exam-form fees, which are charged separately. Neither includes coaching, books or tests. On the fees that can be totalled, CFA's exam fees exceed ICAI's registration fees at any rate above ₹13.92 per USD (₹49,000 ÷ USD 3,520, our arithmetic), but CA's exam-form fees are not in that comparison.

Our recommendation: when you compare, build a list of what you will pay for each stage (registration, exam, coaching, access extension) rather than comparing two headline numbers.

As of November 2026, CA suits a candidate who can commit to two years of practical training and is comfortable paying ICAI stage by stage, while CFA suits a candidate who meets CFA Institute's eligibility rules and can fit 300 recommended study hours per level around other commitments. This is our recommendation from the entry rules and time commitments above, not a view on career outcomes.

The workloads differ in kind. CFA is three 4.5-hour exams, 900 recommended study hours in all, with 4,000 work hours needed for the charter. CA is 16 papers, each needing 40% and 50% in aggregate to pass, plus the practical training. Choose by which load you can carry: three long exams spread over several years, or sixteen papers alongside practical training.

The format sets the price. As of November 2026, these are the prices on each provider's own page, a sample rather than a market average.

CFA Level I

• Aswini Bajaj: ₹17,001 including GST, self-paced lectures, 350+ hours, valid until you clear the exam.
• The WallStreet School: ₹29,500 pre-recorded, ₹39,000 classroom or live online, ₹55,000 weekend plus weekday combo. All three are listed with GST added.

On one basis, at 18% GST (the rate we assume), The WallStreet School totals are ₹34,810, ₹46,020 and ₹64,900 (our arithmetic: 29,500 × 1.18, 39,000 × 1.18, 55,000 × 1.18). With Aswini Bajaj's ₹17,001, that puts CFA Level I between ₹17,001 and ₹64,900 including GST across these three listings.

CA

• Swapnil Patni Classes, CA Inter both groups: ₹44,999 (listed from ₹46,999) for the Both Group Combo Full Lectures batch, ₹95,922 to ₹97,922 for the face-to-face combo, and ₹2,65,000 to ₹2,67,000 for the residential batch. Check whether GST is added.
• ICAI's own live virtual classes, a separate product: ₹1,000 for one Intermediate group or ₹2,000 for both. Foundation costs ₹1,000. Final is ₹1,500 for Group I, ₹1,000 for Group II and ₹2,000 for both. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, per ICAI's FAQ, last updated 22 July 2026.

The CA provider prices span ₹44,999 to ₹2,67,000 by format, and ICAI's live classes sit apart from them as a different product.

Ask for the seven items below in writing before you pay. Each has a test you can run.

If refund terms are the last row you need to test, see our guide on checking a coaching refund policy; to judge the provider as a whole, see using 10 evidence checks.

We recommend Online Coaching 4u for the coaching step of this decision: students pay nothing to compare listings, and you can send an enquiry to only the provider you pick.

On our online coaching directory we list CA coaching institutes in online and hybrid modes, and you can filter by exam, study mode and verification status. Profiles show courses, establishment year, ratings and a separate Google rating. A Verified badge means the institute shared its details and we verified them. We also list professional-certification training providers. Our CA online coaching guide covers CA levels and modes, and CFA vs FRM covers CFA against the other finance certification. When you line up quotes, use our coaching fee comparison calculator, and for CA prices see CA coaching fees in India.

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